Faces in a Table

[WDH]

I built a farm table for my friend Larry's wife out of red oak.  She wanted it rustic.  I pulled out the boards and looked at several ways to match the grain, then noticed that there were several boards, if bookmatched, that showed a figure of what looked like a face to me.  The first one that I noticed was a sleepy Hoot Owl.



 

I kept experimenting, and found a sleepy Grinch.



 

The last one looked a bit like a monkey to me, or maybe a goldfish staring you in the face.



 

Here is a view of the completed table wet with the first coat of tung oil.  The sleepy Grinch is in the right foreground.



 

This was a 9 1/2 foot long table, 42" wide.  You can land a small plane on it.



 

[pineywoods]

Danny, I see some nice legs..Did you finally get yourself a lathe ? Nice  8)

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

I love the Goldfish.  :D

Good job Danny.

[WDH]

The legs came from Osborne Wood Products in Toccoa, GA.  Sorry Wayne, no lathe  . 

[Magicman]

Very nice.  Were the holes filled, and how? 

Don't let Marty Parsons see it, or he will be trying to do a touch and go landing.   ;D

[yukon cornelius]

I love that table! I try to bookend every chance I get. When i point it out to customers and explain how it works they all seem to think its so neat. I also like looking for face type characteristics. Those little things make people fall even more in love with their new piece. I am not real familiar with tung oil but have been trying some here and there. I did a cutting board tonight with it. I think I need more polishing with it because it keeps looking dull. 4- coats and letting it soak in a long time before wiping off excess. I read it could use a polish with steel wool between coats to shine it.

[beenthere]

Steel wool will leave very fine pieces of steel embedded in the fine pores of the wood.
I would use wet/dry very fine sandpaper to sand the surface while the oil is wet and before wiping off.
Getting a fine finish is a lot of hard hand work.

[customsawyer]

Nice looking table.

[SwampDonkey]

Nice table and a nice touch with the book matching.

You southerners like big rugged heavy tables. ;D

[thecfarm]

A very nice table.

[lowpolyjoe]

Looks great

[Mooseherder]

Beautiful!

Please pass or slide over the Jelly. ;D

[WDH]

I did not fill the beetle tracks and beetle holes.  And, I did not fill small knot holes to add to the rustic character that she wanted.  I did fill the eye slits in the hoot owl and the Grinch by using walnut sanding dust and wood glue to make a dough.  I wanted the eye slits to be dark.  After they were sanded down, they turned out nice. 

It was all Larry and I could do to get the table top into the house.  That thing weighed a bunch.  I told him that if he ever moved, he would have to leave the table with the house   . 

[sandsawmill14]

nice looking table 

[Dodgy Loner]

I saw an alien where you saw an owl :D

Can't believe you still don't have a lathe. Nothing like getting all covered in shavings. Best part is when you're turning in shorts and get your shoes filled up ;)

[mesquite buckeye]

I'm betting that you can put your elbows on that table and not worry about annoying others with wiggling the drinks.
;D 8) 8) 8) 8)

I like it. ;D

[Jemclimber]

Very nice table Danny!!!

Best part is when you're turning in shorts and get your shoes filled up ;)

If you turn in shorts you might as well be wearing sandals as well.  :D

[mesquite buckeye]

Those sandals are fine right up until that bunch of scorpions comes rolling out of the log. :-\

[beenthere]

You get scorpions in a log on the lathe ??

[mesquite buckeye]

Right before the log blows up. ;D

[mesquite buckeye]

We have very special logs.  ;D 8) 8) 8)

Sometimes we get bees instead.

Or lizards.

Or black widows. :(

[Dodgy Loner]

Very nice table Danny!!!

Best part is when you're turning in shorts and get your shoes filled up ;)

If you turn in shorts you might as well be wearing sandals as well.  :D

Better make da#% sure you don't drop a gouge on your foot

[SwampDonkey]

Had a local turner in his 70's that got beat'n up by his lathe recently. The wood became a projectile. :-\

[beenthere]

.............
Better make da#% sure you don't drop a gouge on your foot

Dat must be Yooper talk for DanG   ;D

[yukon cornelius]

We have very special logs.  ;D 8) 8) 8)

Sometimes we get bees instead.

Or lizards.

Or black widows. :(

You are not alone. nothing better than putting a log on the mill and getting scorpion stung just as you reach under to flip it around. Or a lizard running up your leg, or copperheads rolling out of hollows.